Category: Projects

Canon X-07 is great little handheld retro computer. But being Canon, nothin is standard. Canon has always insisted using weird proprietary connector for devices, and usually it is impossible to find connectors that would fit them. This is also a case with X-07. It uses weird connectors for serial- and parallel ports. They look bit like a normal D-sub connector, and D-sub connector almost fits into them, but it is not a good fit. I wanted to make new connector that matches X-07’s serial port perfectly, so I took my callipers and 3D cad and started to work. Read More …

I have old but trusty Thinkpad X200s laptop that is now retired but still occasionally used. Due being s model, it does not have build in 3G/WWAN antennas in display because there is no space for them. Independent internet connectivity is often useful, especially in places where there is no WiFi or good cell coverage.
Like many business notebooks, my Thinkpad still had 56k modem and land line RJ12 connector, which isn’t that useful in most western countries where POTS and analog modem services have long being discontinued.

Tampere Hacklab has ongoing design contest for lamps. I participated in with this Asian lantern styled lampshade.
My design points for lamp were to be able easily lasercut and construct it from plywood, and to incorporate some sci-fi themed elements. Steps for this project include CAD drawing, laser cutting and physical assembly. This design came out as easy to reproduce, inexpensive, and aesthetically pleasing. Read More …

Finnish winter days are dark and cold. The sun rises only for short moment, and even then it is often cloudy, or the sun is so low that it can rarely be seen. A circadian clock is synchronized with daylight changes, and so without external stimulus from sunlight, my daily rhythm started to lag and spin around. Waking at morning was difficult task.

There is a ready-made solution for this, e.g. Philips does sell alarm clocks with build in wake-up lamps, that turn on at morning to artificially sync humans internal clock. Me being hacker, I had to make my own solution, as usual. Read More …